To estimate what your MCP server will cost, enter how many read and write tools it needs, how users log in, how many systems it connects, and who uses it. The estimator adds up published person-days per work package, prices them at a rate you pick, and lists what every published price list quotes for the same scope, with links.
Who this is for: anyone budgeting an MCP server before talking to vendors, or checking a quote they already have. Who should use something else: if you already have a written scope, ask two or three vendors for a fixed price. A real quote beats any estimate, this one included.
Scope
Small read-only connector
Read-only, up to 10 tools, one system, your own staff, no login or a single API key.
Effort from published work packages
43.9 to 82.8 person-days
About 9 to 17 weeks for one engineer. At your rate: $28,080 to $132,400.
Published quotes for this scope
$3,700 to $72,000
The highest is 19x the lowest, across 7 published tiers.
| Package | Days | From |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery | 5 to 10 | Silent Infotech |
| Semantic layer and tool spec | 8 to 15 | Silent Infotech |
| Scaffold, transport, deploy | 5 to 10 | Silent Infotech |
| 6 read tools | 9 to 18 | Silent Infotech |
| API key auth 15 to 30 hours, at 8 hours a day. | 1.9 to 3.8 | Make An App Like |
| Testing | 10 to 18 | Silent Infotech |
| Docs and handover | 5 to 8 | Silent Infotech |
| Source and tier | Price |
|---|---|
| ScalaCode Single-system MCP server (one integration, 5 to 10 tools, basic auth) | $8,000 to $15,000 |
| Make An App Like Basic MVP (8 to 12 read-focused tools, single tenant, one API key) | $8,000 to $15,000 |
| AppMatic Tech Single-source integration (one database or API) | $8,000+ |
| Clyrix Digital Basic production (1 or 2 SaaS systems) | $12,000 to $35,000 |
| BeevR Authenticated, read-only (3 to 6 weeks) at $31 to $41 an hour | $3,700 to $9,800 |
| BeevR Authenticated, read-only (3 to 6 weeks) at $100 to $300 an hour | $12,000 to $72,000 |
| mcp-agency.com MCP Foundation (one domain, single environment) | €5,000 |
What the spec asks of this scope
- Remote server over Streamable HTTP. Under the 2026-07-28 spec, servers must answer server/discover and keep no sessions.
Sources: 2026-07-28 changelog, authorization spec.
Every figure comes from a published page, checked 2026-10-13. Most publishers sell MCP builds. The matching of your scope to their tiers, and the two rules marked "ours", are our choices.
Every number in the tool comes from a page someone else published, checked 2026-10-13. ScalaCode’s tiers were checked 2026-10-31. Most of those publishers sell MCP builds, so treat their figures as sales pages. We found no independent survey of MCP build costs. Two rules in the tool are ours, and it labels them: an extra system repeats the “semantic layer and tool spec” package, and audit logging is added once the server can write data or serves customers.
Three example scopes
These are the three buttons at the top of the tool, worked out. The cost column uses the US, UK, and Western Europe rate band that Make An App Like publishes, $80 to $200 an hour.
| Example | Scope | Person-days | At $80 to $200 an hour | Published quotes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staff look up orders: 6 read tools, API key, one system | Small read-only connector | 43.9 to 82.8 | $28,080 to $132,400 | $3,700 to $72,000 |
| Staff update the CRM: 8 read and 4 write tools, OAuth, two systems | Production connector | 87 to 167 | $55,680 to $267,200 | $7,400 to $144,000 |
| Customers use your SaaS from Claude: 10 read and 5 write tools | Customer-facing server | 93.5 to 181 | $59,840 to $289,600 | $15,000 to $700,000 |
What does the estimator show that price lists miss?
Fixed work dominates small servers. Silent Infotech publishes person-days per work package for an internal server (source). Discovery, tool spec, scaffolding, testing, and docs come to 33 to 61 days before a single tool is written. Six read tools add 9 to 18 more. So a small server is about 44 to 83 person-days on those packages, while ScalaCode quotes a single-system server at $8,000 to $15,000 and 2 to 4 weeks (ScalaCode, checked 2026-10-31). Both can be honest. The cheap quote leaves most of the packages out. Ask a vendor which ones their price includes.
Write tools are where effort climbs. Silent Infotech puts a read tool at 1.5 to 3 days and a write tool at 4 to 8. Five write tools add 20 to 40 days, plus 8 to 15 for audit logging.
Customers change everything. Switch “Who uses it” to customers and the tool forces per-user OAuth, adds multi-tenant OAuth and a token vault (60 to 120 hours, from Make An App Like), and adds Launch Day Advisors to the quotes. For 10 read and 5 write tools, the published quotes then run from $15,000 to $700,000.
The headline and the table don’t always agree. Silent Infotech’s headline for a ten-tool read-only internal server is “roughly 65 to 110 person-days”. Its own packages for that scope, with OAuth, add up to 58 to 111 days, or 66 to 126 with audit logging. Close, but it’s worth adding up any vendor’s table yourself.
Where each number comes from
| Part | Source | Who they are |
|---|---|---|
| Person-days per work package | Silent Infotech | Software company, no rates published |
| API key auth, multi-tenant OAuth hours, regional rates | Make An App Like | Agency that sells MCP builds. Its page is labelled “AI-written, Editor-reviewed” |
| Price tiers | ScalaCode, Make An App Like, AppMatic Tech, Clyrix Digital, BeevR, RaftLabs, mcp-agency.com, Launch Day Advisors | Linked in the table below |
| Spec notes | MCP 2026-07-28 changelog and authorization spec | The protocol itself |
The quotes column picks the closest tier from each list. That matching is ours. Here is every tier we found, as written:
| Source | Tier | Price |
|---|---|---|
| ScalaCode Agency that sells MCP builds. Checked 2026-10-31. | Single-system MCP server (one integration, 5 to 10 tools, basic auth) | $8,000 to $15,000 |
| Multi-system MCP server (OAuth, HTTP/SSE, monitoring) | $20,000 to $45,000 | |
| Enterprise MCP platform (5+ integrations, RBAC, audit logging, compliance) | $60,000 to $150,000 | |
| Make An App Like London agency that sells MCP builds. The page is labelled "AI-written, Editor-reviewed". | Basic MVP (8 to 12 read-focused tools, single tenant, one API key) | $8,000 to $15,000 |
| Standard (OAuth, 15 to 25 read and write tools, Streamable HTTP) | $20,000 to $45,000 | |
| Advanced (RAG, webhooks, observability, dashboards) | $60,000 to $120,000 | |
| Enterprise SaaS (multi-tenant, billing, SOC 2, SLAs) | $150,000+ | |
| AppMatic Tech Ahmedabad agency that sells fixed-scope MCP builds. | Single-source integration (one database or API) | $8,000+ |
| Standard fixed-scope build (single source, API key, 4 weeks) | $25,000 | |
| Multi-source integration (2 or more systems) | $15,000 to $40,000 | |
| Full enterprise integration (4 or more systems, unified permissions) | $40,000 to $75,000 | |
| Clyrix Digital Agency that sells MCP builds. | Prototype (one tool, limited data) | $8,000 to $18,000 |
| Basic production (1 or 2 SaaS systems) | $12,000 to $35,000 | |
| Mid-market (3 to 5 systems, approvals) | $35,000 to $90,000 | |
| Advanced (ERP, database, audit logs) | $90,000 to $180,000 | |
| Enterprise (multi-agent, compliance controls) | $180,000 to $250,000 | |
| BeevR Hanoi studio. Prices by senior engineer-weeks at two rate bands. Calls them planning estimates. | Public, read-only (1 to 2 engineer-weeks) at $31 to $41 an hour | $1,200 to $3,300 |
| Authenticated, read-only (3 to 6 weeks) at $31 to $41 an hour | $3,700 to $9,800 | |
| Read-write (6 to 12 weeks) at $31 to $41 an hour | $7,400 to $19,700 | |
| Regulated or multi-tenant enterprise (12 to 24+ weeks) at $31 to $41 an hour | $15,000 to $39,000 | |
| BeevR Hanoi studio. Prices by senior engineer-weeks at two rate bands. Calls them planning estimates. | Public, read-only (1 to 2 engineer-weeks) at $100 to $300 an hour | $4,000 to $24,000 |
| Authenticated, read-only (3 to 6 weeks) at $100 to $300 an hour | $12,000 to $72,000 | |
| Read-write (6 to 12 weeks) at $100 to $300 an hour | $24,000 to $144,000 | |
| Regulated or multi-tenant enterprise (12 to 24+ weeks) at $100 to $300 an hour | $48,000 to $288,000 | |
| RaftLabs Agency that sells MCP builds. Price from its own entry in its own list. | A production MCP server, typical scope | $20,000 to $40,000 |
| mcp-agency.com MCP consultancy. Prices in euros, plus VAT, called indicative. | MCP Foundation (one domain, single environment) | €5,000 |
| MCP Growth (2 or 3 domains, multi-environment) | €10,000 | |
| MCP Enterprise (custom scope) | €30,000+ | |
| Launch Day Advisors Buyer-side advisory firm. Does not build. Prices public servers shipped into AI clients. | Level-1 read-only, single AI client (partner-built) | $100,000 to $300,000 |
| Level-2 actions, single AI client (partner-built) | $300,000 to $700,000 | |
| Level-2 actions, two AI clients (partner-built) | $420,000 to $1,200,000 | |
| Level-3 agent-resident (partner-built) | $1,000,000+ |
What it doesn’t count
- Hosting. A small server can run on Cloudflare Workers’ free plan, which covers 100,000 requests a day (Cloudflare, checked 2026-10-13).
- Upkeep. Published figures run from 15 to 30% of the build cost a year: Make An App Like says 15 to 25%, and Clyrix Digital 15 to 30%. ScalaCode quotes $2,000 to $6,000 a month for API updates, security patches, monitoring, and new tools. Where you host matters too. See where to host a remote MCP server.
- Model tokens. Your tool list is sent to the model on every request. Measure it with the MCP token cost calculator.
- Security reviews and SOC 2. Launch Day Advisors puts a first SOC 2 Type II at $50,000 to $150,000 (source).
- Project management and contingency. None of the packages include them.
How to use the result
- Copy the scope summary, or email it to a vendor. It lists the packages, so a quote can be compared line by line.
- If a quote is far below the person-day range, ask which packages it skips.
- If a quote is far above the published tiers, ask what it includes that they don’t, such as SOC 2, a directory listing, or support.
- Before you sign, ask for a live server the vendor built and run it through our free MCP server checker.
FAQ
How accurate is this MCP cost estimate?
It’s as accurate as the published figures behind it, and those vary a lot. Use it to set a budget range and to check quotes, not as a price. Every figure links its source so you can judge it yourself.
Why does a small MCP server need 44 person-days here when agencies quote 2 to 4 weeks?
Because the published packages include discovery, testing, and docs for an internal production server. A 2 to 4 week quote usually covers the code for a few tools and little else. Neither is wrong. They price different amounts of work.
Do I need OAuth for my MCP server?
Not always. The spec says “Authorization is OPTIONAL for MCP implementations.” A server for your own staff can use a single API key. A server your customers use from their own AI client needs per-user OAuth, so the tool sets it for that case.
Does the estimator send my answers anywhere?
No. It runs in your browser. The email button opens your own mail app with the summary filled in, and nothing is sent unless you press send.
For a quote on your scope, see MCP server development. Related reading: when a business needs an MCP server, adding OAuth 2.1 login to a remote MCP server, why MCP servers use so many tokens, and the best MCP server development companies with real proof.